Many of the lakes and reservoirs around the country such as those constructed by the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, require boat storage facilities to be floating because of the fluctuating surface level of the water. Because of the rise in popularity of boating sports and the population the number of desirable locations on many of the lakes and reservoirs for positioning boat storage facilities on the surface of the water are becoming less numerous. Heretofore, floating storage facilities have been of the type similar to that disclosed in the patent to R. H. Otis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,166,037. These types of facilities are limited to single slips on one level to store the boat. This requires a large area to store numerous boats and such areas are becoming more valuable and harder to find.
In addition to a decreasing number of areas where it is desirable to store boats out of the rough, open water areas, it is undesirable to maintain the boat in the water year around because of deterioration of the boat hull and the possibility of loss from storms and casualties.
Heretofore, dry storage facilities have been limited to land based facilities such as that disclosed in the patent to Filak U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,198 which facility is constructed on land and extends on piers a small distance over the water to remove the boat from the water. The boats are removed and stored over land with a hoist type device. A fixed permanent storage facility is not suitable for use on certain lakes as heretofore mentioned and doesn't compensate for the levels of the water should the level drop or rise drastically. This often occurs on flood control type reservoirs where water must be released or stored during flood conditions.
The dry storage facilities which utilize land adjacent the water edge are constructed somewhat differently from that of floating device since the land based facilities must account for earth vibrations such as earthquake conditions when utilizing a multi-level storage facility such as this. These devices often times have separate support members for supporting the boat and support members for supporting the building to prevent undue stresses on the light building members which must be used.